Less than two weeks after the official Oktoberfest festivities in Munich ended, Fremont will thrown on its own celebration of beers and brats Saturday.

The “Downtown Fremont Oktoberfest” is set to take place on the site of the city’s future temporary public plaza along Capitol Avenue between State and Liberty streets. It’ll kick off at 2 p.m., and run to 8 p.m., according to a city statement.

Although there’ll be a heavy focus on beer, people of all ages are invited to attend, including pets on leashes.

Fremont-based brewery DasBrew will offer a special Oktoberfest Mein Märzen and an EyeCrosser IPA.

Several San Jose-based breweries will offer beers as well, including Camino Brewing, Strike Brewing, Tilt Brewing, Gordon Biersch Brewing and Aurum Cider Company. Lots of different foods will be sold too.

Games, handmade goods and live bands also will be part of the activities.

And anyone with an opinion is welcome to convey what they’d like to see where the city is planning a temporary public plaza downtown that may be ready by April.

The city’s long-term goal for the site is to create a two-story community center and plaza, with construction expected to begin in spring 2019.

The programs and activities chosen for the temporary plaza will serve as “pilot concepts” that may later be used in the permanent plaza.

Joseph Geha is a multimedia journalist covering Fremont, Newark, and Union City for the Bay Area News Group, and is based at The Argus. His prior work has been seen in multiple Bay Area news outlets, including SF Weekly, as well as on KQED and KLIV radio. He is a graduate of California State University, East Bay (Hayward), and is a Fremont native. He is a lifelong Oakland Athletics fan.

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